Wings of Fire: No Longer Perilous
by Makeshift Creator
Summary: Hasn't it always been this way? Being left to the outside; pushed to the brink of sanity? Could it have been different? The world didn't seem to think so. This is all he could muster after all. Roll with the punches. How could he not? It wasn't like there was much of a choice. Maybe there was something or someone that could free him from himself.
1. Prologue

Hasn't it always been this way? Being left to the outside; pushed to the brink of sanity? Could it have been different? The world didn't think so. This is all he could muster, after all. Roll with the punches. How could he not? It wasn't like there was much if a choice.

"You did WHAT?!" Deathbringer exclaimed. He wore a face of sadness, seemingly unable to comprehend what was just explained to him.

"Yeah... It was as simple as that, really. I guess it was the way to go out. On my own terms-"

"-your own terms... I don't think this is your choice, by any means."

"Alright. Fine. So being banished from the Sky Kingdom isn't necessarily my decision, but I did what I had to do."

"Always was your mantra, Nerosso." Deathbringer shook his head and sat on his back legs. He shifted himself to look at Nerosso sideways. "I mean, at least you had somewhere to go back to. Well, until you screwed it up for yourself. And what does the wife think? Can't imagine that conversation going well."

Nerosso glanced at Deathbringer and shrugged his wings, "it's on my list. And she's not my wife."

Deathbringer rolled his eyes and sighed. Nerosso knew it would hurt Cascada, even though it couldn't really impact her. Being a Rainwing and all, Cascada didn't really travel outside of the Rainforest much. A party or other get-together here, an art exhibit there. He also knew it was one of those things he wished would change. Always in secrecy. Never to travel to the other kingdoms. He wanted to take her to all the beautiful places that he got to see throughout Pyrrhia, but she refused adamantly citing dangerous dragons. More dangerous than Nerosso? Unlikely.

"I can only imagine how big your list is now. What did you do exactly?"

Nerosso was shocked Deathbringer hadn't already figured it out on his own. Was his friend preoccupied with something... or someone? He didn't seem like he was entirely engaged in the conversation. More like he was just asking questions to avoid something. Where was his mind? Deathbringer couldn't even look away from the distant horizon when asked that question. He never really kept anything from Nerosso, so he would just have to push a bit.

"Nevermind that. Who is it?" he knew that Deathbringer was an excellent assassin like himself, but when he got like this, it was usually a troubling assignment in one way or another.

"Of course you know the Dragonettes of Destiny-"

"-the Dragonettes are coming-" Nerosso started singing.

"-Yeah, yeah. To save the day and all of that. They're my... target. But there's this one, a Rainwing."

"Always is."

"She's just something out of this continent. I can't even begin to explain her to you."

"Try." Nerosso encouraged. So began a half-hour of oogling over this mysterious Rainwing, Glory. He couldn't even get a word in. Deathbringer kept on going and going. Nerosso thought that his friend would pass out from not taking breaths in between his sentences, yet, he pushed on.

Nerosso tried to be interested. He really did. He kept nodding and acknowledging Deathbringer whenever the one-sided conversation called for it. All he could really think about was how he finally got banned from the Sky Kingdom. After everything he did over the past four years against Queen Scarlet, this finally pushed her to do the once unthinkable. His one tribe had no home; starving and choking on ash. The other, he could now never return.


	2. Chapter 1: Gathering

"-Okay, enough. Did you even talk to her or were you just blindsided by her _beauty_?" Nerosso questioned. He honestly didn't mind that Deathbringer was so amused by the RainWing; it was just frustrating that he didn't get to the point.

"Yes and no," Deathbringer rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like you really made an impact." Nerosso was used to Deathbringer's stories. Usually, they were quite interesting, but this one wouldn't end. Nerosso kept biting his tongue, trying not to blurt out what he had gone through in the past few days since they last talked. Yet, Deathbringer went on.

As he continued, Nerosso began to drift off into space, yearning to be back in the Sky Kingdom, home. He already missed the high towers of stone and gold, and seeing other SkyWings. At least they weren't as opinionated with his "condition" as the NightWings were. The SkyWings accepted him for who he was, with a few exceptions. Queen Scarlet was actually quite fond of him for being a bit different, whether it was for his looks or his personality, he didn't care. She even let him off the hook for the SandWing Succession War by not having to be on the front lines with the others. Was she protecting him? Or was she just trying to keep him close at hand to keep an eye on him? Maybe to not say something stupid? Sure enough, that's what he did.

Nerosso started to tune back into Deathbringer's one-sided conversation just as he asked, "...so what did you do?" He turned and faced Nerosso directly, folding his front arms and tapping his talons on one claw impatiently.

"Oh. I'm allowed to speak now, am I?" Nerosso sighed as he lightly punched Deathbringer's shoulder, "Queen Scarlet had called a general meeting for her subjects..."

* * *

The square wasn't much of a square. It was more of a circle, a lopsided oval at best. Nerosso didn't get why it was referred to as a square, but there were more important things to consider at the moment. Dragons were flying, walking, and limping into the wide-open area. Some had recent battle scars that still hadn't healed completely, and others had darkened scrapes. Some of them were around Nerosso's age, most of them a bit older. Most dragonettes that were ten or so were out fighting in the battles somewhere in Pyrrhia.

Queen Scarlet had called for all "able-bodied" dragons to the square for an official announcement. There was word going around that the war was expanding further, getting closer to SkyWing territory, and that they needed more dragons to fight. Rumour had it that conscription was to be put on the table; making it an obligation to fight in the war if directly called-upon, no matter your experience or skill.

_Would that apply to me? I'm a hybrid, not a full-on SkyWing_. His heart started pounding faster as he saw Queen Scarlet approaching with two others; one male and one female. The female SkyWing looked to be... Smoking? He recognized the male dragon instantly, but this female one intrigued him. She was-beautiful. That was all he could really describe her as. With every wingbeat closer to the center of the square, he could make out more and more detail of her appearance and perfect figure. Her scales were actually smoking. But that wasn't the only thing that was odd. Dragons within her flightpath moved quickly away and made room for her. Perhaps more than she needed.

When she actually landed beside Queen Scarlet a few seconds later, she crushed the weeds that were growing from the cobblestones, incinerating them instantly at the touch of her scales. _Oh. The Firescales everyone is so afraid of; the Queen's notorious death monster_. She looked... Sad, when she looked down at the ashes remaining from the weeds that inevitably died below her. _Poor thing_.

Nerosso looked beside him and nudged a SkyWing, "Who is that?" He pointed a talon at the Firescales.

"Beside Queen Scarlet? That's Peril. Suits her doesn't it?"

"A bit on the snout, but my name literally means 'black and red,'" Nerosso responded while hinting his claws at his body. The SkyWing rolled her eyes and went back to sitting at-attention, facing the three SkyWings in the center. Peril was looking around anxiously, taking in the sights of the now-full square. She slowly turned her head to glance at all the faces, and she met his eyes. His heart stopped. Beautiful, hurt, soft blue eyes. Nerosso was only one row behind the front, and he could see all the details in her complexion. He stared deep into those eyes; saw them flying in the same blue sky, twisting and turning, never separating more than a wingspan or two, always while locking eyes. He wanted to spend time with her, get to know her loves and passions, her regrets, her fears. He wanted to hold her, he wondered if he actually could-the necklace he wore allowed him to forgo the elements, from extreme cold to extreme heat. _Would it work with her?_ He wanted to hold her and never let her go. He wanted to run to her. Nerosso never felt this way about any dragon, not even Cascada. Not even close. He was creating a conflict in his mind; between someone that he's been with for almost a year, and another he doesn't even know. Peril was both intriguing and divine. How could his mind suggest such things? He felt bad for Cascada, and he hadn't really done anything... _Yet_. His mind had finished for him. Was he 'that' kind of dragon? _Surely not_.

"Hello, my most loyal subjects. As you may have already heard, the war is escalating and I need more fodder-er-umm, gifted and brave dragons to step in," Queen Scarlet gave her most comforting smile to the crowd, "I now require all dragons over the age of seven to be seen and graded by my frontline commanders. Theses grades will determine when and where you will be expected to fight for our glorious kingdom."

"You can't be serious," a familiar voice said, suddenly from behind him. Nerosso turned around quickly, careful not to hit anyone with his tail or wings. He jumped a bit when he recognized his friend in front of him.

"Sandir, my dude. What are you doing here?" Nerosso asked the SandWing. H_ow was he both so quiet and so loud?_ He could always make one heck of a ruckus from behind the drumkit, but yet still be able to pop out of nowhere right beside you. He had a love-hate relationship with Sandir sometimes. They often clashed with their views of the war and some topics for songs they wrote.

"Queen Scarlet called upon all of her slaves. I wanted to make an appearance and see what was up. Oh, and to make sure you're okay. That too," he said bumping his wing into Nerosso's back, "wanted to make sure it didn't involve you; but I can see that it does."

"I wouldn't go as far as to say slaves, but borderlining that more recently, yeah. Really have lost our way with her as Queen. Yet, you SandWings aren't exactly doing any better than us now are you? Anyways, I'm obviously not fighting for her war."

A murmur began to overtake the crowd; Sandir shaking his head back and forth. A SkyWing near them started in disbelief, "Are we really expected to join the fight? I thought we were safe here?" They asked quietly, seemingly to no one but everyone at the same time.

Another from across the square bellowed, "Our dragonettes aren't even flying long distances yet, how can we send them off to fight in such a bloody war?!" Heads turned in her direction simultaneously. Then some shocked SkyWing faces slowly turned towards Queen Scarlet, waiting for her surely swift response to the outburst.

"I can understand the-hesitation. But we SkyWings have the capability to outdo any other tribe that Pyrrhia can throw at us. I assure you, as the Queen's frontline commander, that dragonettes will be used only in times of desperation, and never actually on the front line of battle. Dragonettes are useful as tools for more, secretive, espionage-like tasks, where their smaller bodies can be perfect for spying and setting traps." Queen Scarlet said nothing, only nodding slowly in agreement to what the male SkyWing on her right said. He was about the size of the Queen, a few scars here and there. Nothing dramatic about his look, however. No missing talons or pieces of wing. Judging by the lack of battle scars, he was either an excellent fighter or one that cowered behind others in battle.

Some SkyWing dragonettes were being clutched closely to their parents, some hidden behind or under the larger wings in front of them. What the Commander said didn't look to change the common vibe being felt by the majority of the dragons in the square. Nerosso also felt a bit sick; he thought back to his days of being someone else's puppet of death. He thought those days were behind him. Now Queen Scarlet was changing all of that. He couldn't go back to living a life of death and decay. He wouldn't let her take another part of his life from him.

"We're doing something about this, right?" Sandir asked Nerosso.

"Damn right. Get Windchill, I'll find Vulcan." Nerosso glanced around quickly then took to the sky, catching glances from a few SkyWings around him; also Peril. He banked sharply left and landed on a fallen tree to get a better view of the crowd below. However, he couldn't spot the familiar wings of Vulcan around. Nerosso concluded that Vulcan probably found a place near the back, probably writing or sketching something while absentmindedly listening to the coming call of death.

Nerosso turned once again and flew further to the back. Sure enough, he saw Vulcan's red and orange wings twitching as he was madly scribbling something into his notepad. Nerosso plopped beside him, making Vulcan slowly glance up from his project, stare into Nerosso's blue eyes for a minute, then smacked him with his wing.

"Ow, what the-"

"You_ know_ what. Don't interrupt me while I'm writing. Especially with my anger peaking at our majesty. What 'new kind of army' is she expecting to build with a worn-down tribe?"

"We need to do something, now. Sandir is already gathering Windchill and their gear. Let's grab ours and get their attention," Nerosso pointed a claw behind him at the crowd of SkyWings, "we have two we can play, right here, right now. There's been growing discontent with Scarlet. Now is our time to show they're not alone."

"Alright," Vulcan replied, slowly putting his notepad in his carrying bad around his neck, "lead the way."

Nerosso and Vulcan flew off to their makeshift home and gathered their instruments; Vulcan his blood-red and black six-string, and Nerosso his all-black bass guitar with white trim around the edges. Still pristine as always. _I hope I don't get it damaged today. We really are going to piss off some dragons. Hopefully, also change some minds in the process._

* * *

Writer's note: What genre of music do you think Nerosso's band plays? What will Peril think?


	3. Chapter 2: Exodus

Watch: "A New Kind of Army" - Anti-Flag. The song takes place in the first half of the chapter. Can be found on YouTube, Spotify, and so on.

* * *

Nerosso and Vulcan flew back to the square as quickly as they could; the Commander was still droning on about a SkyWing's duty to the throne. They saw Windchill sitting in front of Sandir, who was setting up his drum set. Windchill was attempting to wear a hooded cape to prevent any SkyWings from recognizing an IceWing in their midst. However, his tail was shaking eagerly underneath, letting some of the sun's reflection bounce off his blue scales when the cape shifted. _They picked a good spot: high enough to be seen from all around, yet off to the side in case we need to make a run for it._

They both landed beside Windchill and Sandir. Sandir was still busy putting the cymbals on his set and didn't even look up as Windchill began, "About time. Everyone keeps looking at me with puzzled faces. I'm trying to pass for this low-life's servant, but obviously I shine much brighter. How could be a SandWing's servant? Hunching over like this is hurting my back."

Sandir was finishing up with the last cymbal as he cracked a smirk at Windchill's disdain for his current position. He turned and faced Nerosso and Vulcan with a shrug.

"Just wait until you take off that hood, then you'll get all the attention you want." Vulcan explained, "an IceWing this far into the Sky Kingdom is sure to draw a crowd, although they might just kill you on the spot." _I hope they at least wait for us to start before they start moving in for the kill..._ It was true, he was worried that having Windchill here could easily mean death for them all, but he was also hopeful that the unhappy SkyWings would listen to what they had to say. _Should we really be doing this?_

As Vulcan and Windchill continued to banter with occasional curses here and there, Nerosso began to make sure that their instruments were in tune. He began with his own bass, plucking the thick strings with one of his claws, ensuring that each made the perfect sound. Nerosso had trained his ears to recognize the correct notes when tuning guitars on the off-time he had years ago. Being an assassin during the war had kept him busy, but he often found himself waiting for his next target with nothing else to do. Nerosso spent most of those days just playing around with a guitar from a shop near him; swiping and returning the guitar back before anyone arrived to open in the morning. It was that, reading, and also writing music. The only real things that kept him sane.

He placed his bass down and picked up Vulcan's guitar; smaller and lighter than his own, and begun doing the same thing. Shortly after, he moved onto Windchill's guitar. His was completely different. Like Windchill himself, it was cold and jagged, with bright white streaks along the body and through the guitar's neck. Nerosso had come pretty close to being cut by the headstock of Windchill's guitar when he was enthusiastically swinging it around while practicing beside him. Cool and calculated-just not when playing their music.

"I can't even see under this damn hood. It keeps covering my eyes-" Windchill blew some cold air out of his mouth to move the lopsided hood from part of his face, "are we ready? I want to get loud."

"Sandir?" Vulcan asked.

"All set up here. Just let me get behind the set and we're a go!"

"Alright guys. Scarlet has been pretty forgiving given our history of being outspoken regarding her policies," Nerosso pointed to Vulcan and back to himself, "but this is the most direct rebellion the SkyWings will have seen since the Scorching. This is big. Not going to tell you it's not. We need to do this. We hear the pleas from all tribes to end the war and the killing. Let's give them something to run behind!"

Nerosso grabbed his bass, slung the strap over his neck and onto his shoulder, and turned to face the backs of the SkyWing crowd. He glanced quickly over to his left and saw the distant land stretching out before him; their escape route if needed. Nerosso took a long and deep breath, then stretched his wings out wide.

"Uh..." Nerosso started, looking over his left shoulder at Windchill, who beckoned him to continue by motioning his front claws to the crowd. "Hello friends."

Sandir smacked his face into his claws and shook his head. Vulcan began laughing uncontrollably to his right. Windchill shook his hood off and yelled, "HEY SHEEP!"

Everyone quickly turned and saw the four of them on the ledge with their instruments. The sun seemed to be directly shining only on Windchill's scales, reflecting a dazzling light show for the dragons closest to them. Nerosso noticed that the Commander, Queen Scarlet, and Peril were all now looking directly at them, each with different faces ranging from shock, anger, all the way to intrigue.

"Why is there an ICEWING IN MY SQUARE?!" Queen Scarlet bellowed, causing a few dragonettes near her to shift a bit lower to the ground to avoid the smoke coming from her mouth.

"I got their attention. Your turn." Windchill patted Nerosso on the back above his wing.

"SkyWings, and I guess, visitor SandWings... We know of the growing distrust of our Queen and the endless war that she has dragged us into. So many dragons dead at the hands of a senseless war, dragging every tribe into it. We know there is a call for peace, we know there is a want for normality to return to our lives. It doesn't seem like the war has shifted in one way or another. It's been built on this false promise that it would restore glory to our kingdom and tribe. Is that what we want to fight for? Honour and glory don't feed our dragonettes. They don't protect us from antagonistic dragons. They don't ensure a better life for future generations. This war is about greed. This war is about Queen Scarlet and her innate want to hold onto power. Yes, the SandWings have to figure out a new way for a queen, but this shouldn't involve us or anyone else. I'm calling on those that see the war for what it really is to step down from the frontlines and stand up for peace and negotiation. There has to be a way for this to all end-"

"-Yeah! The Dragonettes of Destiny!" one SkyWing yelled back to Nerosso.

"Mmm... Not exactly what we had in mind, but sure. Whatever or whoever it may be, we need to work for peace. End the death and destruction of our species. We're calling for a new kind of army..." Nerosso turned and quickly nodded to his friends, and Sandir raised his claws holding drumsticks.

**Play song: "A New Kind of Army" - Anti-Flag. Link provided at beginning of chapter.*

* * *

After they had finished their song, Nerosso had noticed that some SkyWings had changed expressions. They looked... hopeful? Inspired? He didn't know for sure, but it was a sign that something had changed in their minds. Just then, seven or eight SkyWings stood on their hind legs and raised their right claws in a fist yelling, "Too smart to fight, too smart to die!"

They reached someone. They actually reached dragons through their message! Nerosso looked to the three in the centre of the square. The Commander was pointing to guards within the square and then to the SkyWings that yelled out in defiance. The Queen was shaking with fury, her eyes narrow and teeth showing in an ugly, fear-enticing look. Peril was looking directly at him with eyes wide open, mouthing something: _Red? Right? Rawr? Roof? _Oh..._ Run_.

Nerosso turned quickly and shooed his friends away. Sandir picked up his drum set with one swoop of the cloth that was underneath, neatly wrapping it into a makeshift bag to throw on his back. Vulcan grabbed Nerosso's bass from his claws and held onto it tightly. Windchill nodded to Nerosso and they all quickly took to the sky.

"Please be safe," Nerosso whispered as he too took to the sky, blocking a few guards that tried to restrain them before they could take off. "You aren't going to get them, they're too skilled for you." Nerosso was then thrown to the ground with a thud that shook his head violently. He was pinned, but his friends were escaping to the South towards the Diamond Spray River, becoming a few dark spots in the distance. All but Windchill, who was basically a flashing speck beside them. _They're going to be fine. _A claw pressed on the back of his neck, hard._ You, however, may not be_, he thought.

"Get him up, NOW!" Queen Scarlet was now very close to Nerosso, although he couldn't turn his head to see where. The SkyWings that held him to the ground eased him up and clasped his wings, turning him to come face-to-face with Queen Scarlet. "We're going to have soooooooooo much fun, aren't we darling? I've tolerated you for some time, Nerosso. A little dissent here and there always ends up working for me in the long run. This, however, created a little more attention."

Queen Scarlet was pointing to the few dragons that had openly acknowledged Nerosso's message being dragged away by guards, unconsciously. The rest of the square was clearing out slowly with some SkyWings and SandWings chatting and glancing over at Nerosso. Queen Scarlet was now wearing a friendlier face as some of her subjects waltzed on by. Shifting her gaze once again back to Nerosso she questioned, "What are we going to do with you? It would simply be grand to have you executed... or ouuu! Fight in the arena against another one of the dissenters! Marvellous! Shame though, I was quite fond of your unique nature, and let's say, your promiscuous inhibitions, ha ha ha!"

_How does she know?! Only a few dragons know about Blister and I. Maybe Scarlet's just pulling my chain to get a reaction out of me. She probably has no idea. No one does. It doesn't really make sense for her to bring this up now even if she did._ Nerosso noted that Peril was approaching slowly alongside the Commander, pacing to keep enough away from him not to burn his scales. She looked puzzled. Perhaps because he made no real effort to run when she was warning him to.

"I don't know what you think you know, but I haven't seen her in some time now... That was nothing. I refuse to fight another dragon with the same beliefs I hold, you won't force me," Nerosso said.

"Oh, but I do have my ways dear. Peril? Meet your next _fight_, Nerosso." Queen Scarlet said smartly while emphasizing 'fight' with her scare-quote claws.

Peril dipped her head slightly, "Pleasure." She then whispered in his ear, "Why didn't you run?"

Nerosso couldn't answer, with Queen Scarlet looking down her snout towards her next game. Nerosso was both fearful and excited to actually be this close to Peril and having the chance to meet her. Of course, the next time they would meet would be in the arena, and he wouldn't be leaving. He had only heard of the fights in the arena. Nerosso didn't like to embrace Queen Scarlet's fear tactics, and watching his fellow dragons fight to the death for sport was not something he had the stomach for. Vulcan had informed him that Queen Scarlet had this special weapon of sorts, a Firescales, that she would send in to finish off an opponent that was "winning too much" he said. Usually a quick death. _At least I have that going for me._

"Take him to the lock-up until tomorrow. He'll have plenty of time to think about his impending death. We haven't had a mental breakdown in the arena in a while. Maybe we'll be lucky!" Queen Scarlet said while strutting away, then taking to the sky towards her castle followed by Peril and the Commander.

She had left two guards to take him to the dungeons near the arena, a male and a female. The male guard was taking up the rear while the female one guided Nerosso along the path towards the arena. She had a soft grip on his right arm and kept looking at his face the whole way down.

When he was finally put in his cell, only the female remained to guard the door. Once the male was out of ear-shot she said, "That was both brave and stupid. I get it though, I don't like the war either, although I haven't really seen it first-hand. I'm stuck on guard duty-which I guess is better than worrying about death every waking minute. Ooops."

"Yeah... Imminent death coming soon and all that," Nerosso replied.

"Sorry. What I mean is that I don't want to hear about the war anymore. The deaths and the grieving families here in the Sky Kingdom alone are enough to make me think that this war has gone on for too long and to no end. What exactly were you trying to do?" She seemed genuinely interested in Nerosso's story but was still fidgeting and looking around to make sure no one was hearing the conversation.

"My friends and I were planning on doing something like this, with you know, more planning. When Scarlet announced everyone to the square that dragonettes were now subject to war, that's when we decided we had to act now. We know there has been discontent with the Queen. I keep hearing stories about how the SkyWings were never this violent, at least for such a long time. We're better than this. And it's not only us, but it's also all the tribes. Dragons need to get past this inherent death and destruction of one another. There has to be another way. We were hoping that we could change the minds-if not make dragons begin thinking for themselves instead of blindly following Scarlet to their deaths... I don't know. I was hoping there would be more of an uproar but I can take what I can get."

"That's pretty amazing. Standing up to the Queen and all that. I don't think you're wrong; there is a lot of dissatisfaction with how the war is going and how many dragons we're losing to the war. Doing that through music too! You standing up for everyone with your friends, with a melody that's still stuck in my head. Truly amazing."

"Thanks. I was just dumb enough to get caught-" Nerosso said, but was cut off by one of her talons pressing against his mouth.

"Don't say anything," she reached for the key around her neck and opened the black gate holding Nerosso. "I believe in you, in your cause. You realize that if I let you go you'll never be allowed back here again, right? This is essentially exile. But I'd think it's worth it compared to the alternative... I'll be fine too. Queen Scarlet should know better by now than to leave me alone with a prisoner. I've already had three _mishaps_ with the previous ones. Don't look at me like that! They were actually innocent!" She said smiling. She gently unlocked the wing bands holding his wings in place and he unfurled them with a welcome sigh. Nerosso startled her with a quick hug.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Nerosso said while holding her in an embrace. He backed away a bit, grabbing her claws in his, "I hope that I can make a difference; that we can make a difference."

"Stay safe out there. Wouldn't want you being set free just to go and get killed," she said while looking down at their entwined claws. She released him from her grip and continued, "I'm Sirrah by the way. My sister Claire is living in one of the smaller homes by the edge of the Sky Kingdom, in the same direction your friends were heading. It'll have this," she pointed to her rectangular necklace around her neck, "over the door. Stop by there and tell her what you told me and that I sent you. Hopefully, she can give you some things to last a few days until you resettle somewhere new. I hope we can see each other again."

"Thank you, Sirrah. I'll never forget what you've done for me today. Be safe."

"Too smart to fight, too smart to kill, right?" Sirrah smiled again and pushed Nerosso out the entrance of the dungeons. Nerosso quickly took flight and headed towards the Diamond Spray River. The Sky Kingdom was still fairly busy, even though the night was rapidly approaching. He felt the wind underneath his wings as he flew hard and fast looking for Claire's home.

There were still SkyWings going about their daily routines below, stopping at shops and conversing with one another. Their bodies looked like flashes of orange, red, and yellow from above as he continued on. It was times like this that he was thankful for his own necklace, one that allowed him to withstand dramatic temperatures and only feel the slightest chill or warmth. Nerosso clutched at it unconsciously, _whoever lost this must be regretting it, but I'm glad that I can keep safe from the rapidly changing temperatures I've been exposed to over the years_. He wondered if this would work if he ever got close enough to Peril physically. _I can hope. That is if I see her again_. Nerosso felt an overbearing sadness come over him at this thought.

He managed to get to Claire's home pretty quickly, and she was just as pleasant as Sirrah. The home wasn't large by any means, but it looked far more comfortable than the makeshift home he now once had deeper in the Sky Kingdom. Claire gave him some basic supplies such as a canteen for water and some medicinal flowers for pain (_if he were to somehow get into trouble again_). She also offered him a blanket and compass but denied them. She shrugged and wished him luck. After thanking her, Nerosso once again took flight towards the Diamond Spray River, much slower than before. He looked behind him one last time at the shrinking castle and towers of the Sky Kingdom._ I can't ever return. Not until I'm pardoned or Queen Scarlet is dead._


End file.
